You can find the rest of the videos on our Youtube Channel—where we’ll be sharing the love all day! Have a story you want to share? It’s not too late to submit your video! Just send it to design[at]vancouverfringe[dot]com or tag #WorldFringeDay and #VanFringe in your social media post and we’ll share it throughout the Festival in September!

Get Lucky at the Fringe!

Want to win a coastal getaway, a day at the spa, and unlimited access to the Vancouver Fringe Festival? The Fringe Raffle is back with double the prizes! The Vancouver Fringe Festival is excited to announce the launch of the first Early Bird Draw! If you buy a raffle ticket before September 7, 2017 at 6:00pm you can win three great prizes including a two-night stay during the Festival at the Granville Island Hotel, a gift certificate for freshly delivered groceries from Fresh Prep valued at $576, and access to as many Fringe shows as you want this year with a 2017 Fringe Festival Kick Ass Pass (we don’t even sell these passes—that’s how exclusive they are). The winner will be announced at our Opening Night celebration on September 7, 2017 at 8:30pm at the Big Rock Brewery Fringe Bar.

You could take a swim in La Fortuna waterfall in Costa Rica if you win the Grand Prize!

Tickets are $10 each or $20 for three and you can purchase them online now, or during the Festival at the Raffle Tent by the Fringe Box Office, at the Big Rock Brewery Fringe Bar, and around the Festival! 100% of proceeds will go directly to the Vancouver Fringe, which means you can win incredible prizes while supporting Theatre for Everyone—it’s a win-win! For more information visit the Raffle Page on our website. Good luck!

Prizes have no equivalent cash value.

Host an Artist, Help the Fringe!

Have you ever wondered what a Fringe artist looks like in its natural habitat? Interested to find out? Sign up before August 4 to be a billet host and see for yourself!

Jimmy had a great time with his billet host in 2008. Sign up to host artists just like Jimmy! Illustration by Zuzia Juszkiewicz.

Every year, the Vancouver Fringe Festival welcomes over 500 Fringe artists who put on nearly 100 shows. About 10% of these artists are not based locally. That’s 50 artists who need a place to stay! These artists depend on your generosity as hosts. By opening up your home, you allow Fringe artists to continue sharing their craft within a safe and secure environment. And it certainly makes an impact! Fringe Artist Richard Harrington says, “Fringe volunteers and billets are some of my favourite people. I am still friends today with my Vancouver Fringe billet from 2000!” If you are interested in making a new friend, sign up to become a billet host!

When you sign up to be a billet host, we’ll match you with an artist or artists that are suitable to you and your living space. Whether your home has a guest room or a sofa bed, if it’s a loud household, or a quieter one, we’ll find the artist that works for you! And to show our appreciation, billet hosts receive either a Volunteer Rush Pass, which allows free admission into any show that isn’t sold out, or 10 Exchange Vouchers, which are good for any regular Fringe performance in the 2017 Festival. Those are 10 good reasons to sign up!

If this isn’t an option for you, we’re still recruiting volunteers! Check out all the great positions, and then sign up, or if you are a returning volunteer, update your profile. We’ll email you when shifts are available.

You’re Invited to the Program Guide Launch Party & AGM!

Get ready to rock at our Program Guide Launch Party! Photo by Alex Sirbu.

Join us in celebrating the launch of the 2017 Program Guide with beer, pizza, and games of chance, including the Program Guide Scavenger Hunt on Thursday, July 27. The Party starts at 7:30pm at the Big Rock Urban Brewery and Eatery!

We’ll be revealing this year’s theme and cover art. Hint: It’s been created by April Caverhill whose impressive bold lines and colours resulted in a Royal Flush! We’re taking our chances that everyone loves it! We think it’s a sure bet. Don’t forget to RSVP to attend the party!

We’re also holding our Annual General Meeting starting at 6:00pm, just before the Program Guide Launch Party. If you bought and activated a Membership at the 2016 Vancouver Fringe Festival, you are a Member and eligible to vote in the AGM! If you didn’t, but still want to participate, you may purchase a Membership at the AGM. Please note that these Memberships are for 2016 and a new, 2017 Membership will be required to attend shows at the 2017 Festival.

If you can’t attend on July 27, keep a look out at Blenz Coffee locations as well as other Fringe-friendly businesses. Distribution will begin shortly after the Party!

The Fringe at the Jessie Awards!

The 35th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards were held on Monday, June 26—and both the Vancouver Fringe Festival and Theatre Wire were in attendance—in fact, Theatre Wire sponsors the Award for Outstanding Production in the Small Theatre Category!

The 2015 Fringe show The Fighting Season by Bleeding Heart Theatre was nominated for four Jessie Awards, with Kyle Jespersen taking home the award for Outstanding Performance. Fringe alumni, Rohit Chokhani (Mrs. Singh and Me) won the award for Outstanding Work in Expanding the Diversification of Vancouver Theatre through Excellence in Festival Programming (for Diwali Fest)—and he’ll be directing Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black in the upcoming Fringe!

Theatre Wire was also well represented this year at the Jessie Awards with Green Lake by Solo Collective Theatre. Alexandra Lainfiesta took home the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role and Rachel Peake took home the award for Outstanding Direction in the Small Theatre category.

The Vancouver Fringe Festival is also proud to say that two members of the Fringe Team were also recipients of Jessie Awards! Artist Services Coordinator Jess Amy Shead won the Jessie Award for Outstanding Performance: Theatre for Young Audiences with her costar Randi Edmundson for her incredible work in Freddie in the Neighbourhood by the Little Onion Puppet Company. And Audience Services and Volunteer Department Manager Angie Descalzi was awarded the Mary Phillips Prize for Behind-the-Scenes Achievement! Congratulations to both Fringe Family members for their much deserved awards!

You can find out more about the Jessies and all the shows and artists who were nominated and won on the Jessies’ website.